FATIGUE AND THE WORKER 215 



of physical and mental work, the distribution of work that requires 

 little or no active attention, are devices for achieving these ends. 



In many offices and factories it is coming to be customary to in- 

 troduce a " pause " of from five to fifteen minutes in the middle of 

 the afternoon. During the pause no work is permitted, and it is found 

 that the total output is increased rather than diminished in this way. 



In schools similar ideas are being put into practice. Physical exer- 

 cise for a few minutes between study or recitation periods stimulates 

 the flow of blood and so increases cell respiration and excretion. 



In spite of all the precautions that we know should be takerr, 

 many people, and even many children, suffer from chronic 

 fatigue. This condition shows itself in restlessness and irrita- 

 bility, in lack of appetite, in languor and lack of concentration, 

 in sleeplessness or disturbed sleep, in loss of weight, and in a 

 certain drawn expression on the face. When fatigue poisons 

 have got a little ahead of the excretory system, the best 

 thing to do is to take as complete a rest as possible. 



248. Fatigue and health. Fatigue poisons affect the gland 

 cells as well as the nerve and muscle cells ; hence the frequent 

 indigestion from meals eaten when the body is fatigued. 

 Fatigue poisons also affect the white corpuscles, and the 

 chemical activity of the cells generally, so that, when fatigued, 

 a person is more liable to catch colds, as well as other 

 infectious diseases. 



We may well conclude that it does not pay to become 

 chronically fatigued, although there is nothing better than 

 getting " good and tired " every day, and then getting over it 

 again by the next morning. This means that sufficient sleep 

 is one of the prime necessities of healthful and efficient and 

 happy living. People whose day's tasks are too long are most 

 likely to get their fun in time taken from sleep. 



It is during sleep that the working and growing cells can 

 make up for the losses of the day's work ; it is also during 

 sleep that the excretion can catch up with the day's accumu- 

 lation of wastes. 



